This post was written by Olivia Robertson, summer intern at the Smithsonian Libraries Research Annex and student at Goucher College. As an intern at the Smithsonian Libraries Research Annex (SLRA), I worked creating gift-in-hand records for a collection of books donated by the Culinary Historians of Washington D.C. (CHoW). Making a gift-in-hand record is the first step in cataloging an item. This happens just after a library receives the item, while the more »

Interested in learning more about libraries and museums with a Smithsonian Libraries internship? Fall applications are open until August 15th! More information here: https://library.si.edu/GeneralInternships As I reflect back on my internship appointment at the Smithsonian Libraries, I am left feeling entirely overwhelmed at the unique and enriching nature of this experience. Being mentored by Daria Wingreen-Mason of the Smithsonian Libraries Research Annex was invaluable to my growth as both a student and more »

“PANIC STRICKEN MULTITUDE FACING SURE DEATH! HUNDREDS WERE DOOMED TO WATERY GRAVES! TERRIBLE HORROR OF THE BRINY DEEP!” Look no further than the title page of the “Memorial Edition” of The Sinking of the Titanic to find these pieces of purple prose. But if you keep looking, you’ll find that author, journalist, and potential fraudster Jay Henry Mowbray keeps his foot on the accelerator of sensational language for nearly 300 pages more »

While at the Smithsonian Libraries Research Annex (SLRA) during the second week of my Smithsonian Libraries internship, I was asked to select and research texts in SLRA’s collection for the Adopt-a-Book Program. Adopt-a-Book is an opportunity for bibliophiles to “adopt” a book from one of the Smithsonian Libraries’ twenty-one branches, granting them acknowledgement through a virtual bookplate in the SIL online catalog, SIRIS. Potential donors can view the books up for adoption more »

The post was written by Mark Coulbourne, Towson University student and fall intern in the Smithsonian Libraries Research Annex. For the Fall Semester I was an intern at the Smithsonian Libraries Research Annex (SLRA), and was tasked with evaluating 19th and early 20th century monographs for digitization. My work with librarian Daria Wingreen-Mason centered on the areas of photography, exploration, Alaska, and zoology.

This post was written by Deborah Bauder, summer intern in the Smithsonian Libraries Research Annex (SILRA). Six weeks at the Smithsonian Libraries goes fast! I arrived here at the beginning of June excited and ready to tackle a project at the Smithsonian Libraries Research Annex (SILRA) under the guidance of Daria Wingreen-Mason. Now in my last week here, I can’t believe how time has flown. I’m a second year graduate student at more »

Fold-out plates are often used to feature important illustrations or diagrams in many books related to science, technology, and history. Though a fold-out is designed to be frequently folded and unfolded, the stress on the creased fold lines from constant handling often causes the paper to break.